The machinery underneath the covenant.
Even Steven is the agreement a skilled operator trusts. Tacit Source is the company underneath it that holds the software, the registry of licensed ways of working, and the count. A maker, a kit company or a fleet owner deals with Tacit Source. The operator never has to.
The shape of a collecting society, split the way one already works.
A songwriter affiliates with the society they trust — the one that pays them and answers to them. That society licenses onward through separate machinery it co-owns, which does the multi-territory work the writer never has to see. Even Steven is the society here. Tacit Source is the machinery.
| Even Steven | Tacit Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Faces | The hand, the family, the crew | Makers, kit companies, fleet owners |
| Holds | The covenant, the voice, the pages, the roster | The software, the registry, the count, the release |
| Carries | Trademark, copyright, the relationships | The mechanism, and the patents that protect it |
The operator's agreement is always with Even Steven. Tacit Source builds and runs the mechanism that makes the agreement enforceable at the machine — it is never who a hand signs with.
Three counterparties, one interface.
Makers
Build a machine that runs a licensed way of working, against a published interface, on the same terms any other maker gets.
Kit companies
Supply the physical release path — the release interface a machine needs to accept a licensed way of working and report its count.
Fleet owners
License a named way of working for a job, on your own machine, and are charged for the hours it is in use, on the same record the hand can check.
Nothing has shipped yet, and this page says so.
Tacit Source was ruled into existence as its own company on 2026-09-11. The count and release interfaces are built and tested against each other. No licence between Even Steven and Tacit Source is drafted. No operator's way of working has been licensed onward to a maker, a kit company or a fleet owner. Read the full account on where this stands before you take anything else on this site as done.
Building a machine, a kit or a fleet on this?
Tell us which one you are, and what you need from the interface.